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New York is an incongruous state. We’re home to fabulous wealth — if the state were a country, it would have the tenth largest economy in the world — but also the highest rate of wealth inequality. We’re among the most diverse – but also the most segregated. We passed the nation’s most ambitious climate law — but haven’t been meeting its deadlines and continue to subsidize industries hastening the climate crisis.
As New York’s only statewide nonprofit news publication, our journalism exists to help you make sense of these contradictions. Our work scrutinizes how power works in the state, unpacks who’s really calling the shots, and reveals how obscure decisions shape ordinary New Yorkers’ lives.
In the last two decades, the number of local news outlets in New York have been nearly slashed in half, allowing elected officials and powerful individuals to increasingly operate in the dark — with the average New Yorker none the wiser.
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A New York Focus investigation finds that the state can take up to seven years to resolve complaints against educators.
Thousands of New Yorkers have had their food benefits stolen. Meanwhile, Congress will likely move forward with major cuts to the lifeline program.
In rural New York, even some Republicans are frustrated as the administration halts $186 million in conservation payments to farmers.
The governor’s proposal could leave 24 districts with less Foundation Aid than expected. The one-house budgets aim to fix that.
New state education rules will cut funding to private schools that can’t provide the same level of education as public schools. The ultra-Orthodox community is fighting back.
Student performance in math and reading is still below pre-pandemic levels, according to new data — but on par with the national average.